Creamy Winter Buzz

This week’s mission: upscale takes on Baileys Irish Cream. (By James Norton)

The Conference You Wish You Went To

A report from Tales of the tail. (By Jordan Mackay)

Glassware: The Long and Short of It

Glasses come in all shapes and sizes. (By Rob Chirico)

That Heady Molecular Mixology

When a tail should really just be a tail. (By Jordan Mackay)

All-American Drunk

This week’s mission: category-defying light rum and spiced apple schnapps from the Midwest. (By James Norton)

Key to the Liquor Cabinet

How to create the ultimate home bar. (By CHOW staff)

Chills out tense editors. (By Lessley Anderson)

McSweeney’s explores the food writing career of H. P. Lovecraft. (By Miriam Wolf)

Pineapple-vanilla vodka? Sure. (By Caitlin McGrath)

Revelatory chocolate-covered fruit. (By Amy Wisniewski)

Libations that feature crème de cassis. (By Caitlin McGrath)

Hang around Martine’s at the right time of day and you can watch fancy European-style sweets made by hand from Belgian Callebaut chocolate, French butter, fresh cream, and other top-quality ingredients. (By Mark Hokoda)

Commercial gourmet fruit sodas can be quite pricey, and it’s so easy to make them for yourself. ... (By C. Thi Nguyen)

Chinese-challenged Cliffside Park now has the real deal in Petite Soo Chow, reports marachino. Shanghai specialties like xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and fish head clay pot are “easily the kind of stuff that would warrant... (By C. Thi Nguyen)

Homemade brandied sour cherries are a mega-step up from commercial maraschino cherries as a garnish for tails. (By C. Thi Nguyen)